Category Archives: Trip Reports

I rarely post trip reports unless there’s something noteworthy, and today was one of those trips. I finally got to fish with Karin Miller of Zen Fly Fishing Gear. For those of you who don’t know, Zen Fly Fishing Gear is a Colorado-based tenkara company that has been consistently producing quality, innovative gear since they…

We’d been having a bit of a dry spell–my fishing buddy Dennis Vander Houwen and I (he goes by the pseudonym “Dennis Michael” in the entertainment world). We’d been through more than our share of fishing fiascos and I’d been having less than a stellar year (to phrase it diplomatically). Timing, high water, weather, and a seeming raft of…

This weekend, my family and I rented a condo in Estes Park that’s right on the Fall River. It was really a family trip, not a fishing trip, but I took my tenkara gear anyway. I’ve been caught off guard too many times without a rod after stumbling on to easy fishing opportunities. So now,…

I took the day off from work today to hit Clear Creek thinking the water levels might have come down a little since I was there last weekend. Nope. Still running high, but fishable. I also wanted to check out what condition the recent flooding had left the stream in. Unfortunately, two of my suspicions…

Today was one of those days where the fishing was so good that you shun all mortal needs until your body just can’t take it anymore. And all of a sudden, it finally hits you: you’re starving, dehydrated, and really (really) have to go to the bathroom. I headed to a section of Boulder Creek…

I got to give my Oni rod and Tenkara USA Ayu II a workout today on clear creek again. This time, with avid tenkara angler, Phil Echelman. It was a great day with lots of fish caught, and some neat streamside discoveries. I actually started fishing just above tunnel #1before I met up with Phil.…

A few posts ago, I wrote about my initial impressions of the Tenkara no Oni rod and this weekend, I finally got a chance to give it a workout on Clear Creek outside of Golden, CO. Not only was the fishing great, but my field test confirmed a lot of what I had expected of…

I hit the South Platte today since it was one of the only rivers that isn’t frozen over right now. I didn’t expect to catch much because, well…it’s the S. Platte in December. And, my expectations were met. I only caught one (small) rainbow. But I can’t complain. After all, it was a frigid day…

It was a gloomy day on Bear Creek today. Surrounded by dark waters, cold grey rocks, scraggly leave-less trees, dead grasses, and overcast skies, I felt like I was fishing in a Tim Burton movie. Luckily, the fishing was better than the weather… It’s been an eternity since I’ve fished Bear Creek. For much…

My daughter Emma doesn’t know it yet, but she’s the world’s youngest tenkara angler. I say this because even though she’s only four months old, she embodies the spirit of tenkara. She takes pleasure in simple things, lives completely in the moment, and basically just takes a beginner’s mind approach to every experience. My wife…

Today, Karel from Tenkara on the Fly, Joe from Dragon Fly Fishing and I headed up to the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park to fish North Inlet Creek just above Grand Lake. I normally fish the east side of RMNP and haven’t been to the west side in years so today was a…

Today, I was lucky to head out to some absolutley gorgeous water with fellow tenkara angler Paul Vertrees. We saw tons of animals, caught tons of fish, and absorbed more scenery in four hours than many people see in a year. Here’s my trip report… The Stream Paul took me to a spring creek outside of…

I just got back from a quick trip to Rocky Mountain National Park with Anthony Naples from Casting Around. Anthony and I have had a long-term online relationship and many people might not know that he actually designed the graphics for the header of this blog. In addition to being a great graphic designer, Anthony…

Last weekend, Karel from Tenkara on the Fly and I headed out to Barker Reservoir in Nederland, CO. He heard that there might be grayling near the inlet so we thought we’d give it a shot. Our last attempt at getting grayling new Joe Wright Reservoir was somewhat of a disaster. But this time, we…

I hit Clear Creek again today, hoping to do better than I did last time. Luckily, I did because this time I really wanted to get some footage with my new Go Pro camera. I’m still learning to work it, but I hope you like this short video I took with it. Also, here are…

Today, on my first Father’s Day, I hit Clear Creek for a while just a few miles outside of Golden, CO. I’m not sure why I made that choice. It’s not my favorite type of stream–steep banks that you have to climb to get from spot to spot, vast distances between good pools, highway noise,…

Today I had a chance to fish the Fall River in Rocky Mountain National Park for three hours. With high winds and ultra-spooky trout, I definitely had to work for my fish but the scenery and solitude were well worth it. I decided to fish downstream of the alluvial fan. My favorite section of the…

I met up with a bunch of fellow tenkara anglers on Boulder creek this weekend and what would you know but Larry Green from Granny Scott Pies showed up with a pie sporting the Tenkara USA logo. It’s just one more example of how cool, creative, and fun tenkara anglers are. Thanks for sharing Larry!

The little voice inside my head said I should know better than to hit the stream Memorial weekend (let alone on actual Memorial Day) but sometimes it pays to go against your better judgement… Sure enough, the parking lot at Bear Creek was not only packed, but overflowing. I was lucky to get a…

They say there has to be a first time for everything. Well, today, the old cliche materialized in triplicate (two good, one not so good). And while people also say, “two out of three ain’t bad”, I’d summarize today as an all around great day despite the fact that one of these firsts just…

Today I hit the Big Thompson with fellow tenkara angler Jim Lionberger. I haven’t fished the Big Thompson in the canyon for a few years so it was nice to make it back. Even better was that Jim has a friend who owns some land right on the river so we ha a beautiful…

This might come as a surprise to some of you but today, I caught my first tenkara-caught bass. Funny thing–I guess if you only go fishing for trout, you only catch trout! Until today, I have only used tenkara in trout streams so I thought I’d give one of our local lakes a try for…

Today I got a chance to try out the release box that Karel from Tenkara on the Fly made for me. I really like it because it gives me plenty of time to take pictures of fish without having to worry about suffocating them or slipping out of my hands. Plus, I can…

April Fool’s day was no joke on Bear Creek this Sunday. I had another stellar day–one of those sublime “lost track of how many fish I caught” days. But aside from the great fishing, I learned a thing or two. The days you catch fish (or don’t) come and go. But the lessons you…

Just got back from Bear creek where I finally caught my first fish of the year. I can’t believe I went this far into 2012 without catching anything but to be fair, this winter’s fishing conditions haven’t been great and I’ve been going to some tough places like the S. Platte. But today made…

Fall has always been my favorite season. I love the palate of colors, the brisk air, the crackle of leaves beneath my feet, and most of all, fall fishing! Maybe it’s something as ingrained as the fact that I was born in the fall or maybe it’s something more conditioned like the anticipation of…

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to fish with Chris Stewart of Tenkara Bum and Brian Flemming of Learn Tenkara in Rocky Mountain National Park. [/caption] We started out on the Roaring River near the Fall River Entrance in the alluvial fan. My favorite part of the Roaring River is actually the upper section (the…

I just got back from a backpacking trip to Mt. Whitney with fellow tenkara enthusiast Brian Green of Brian’s Backpacking blog. We were both as excited about the hike as we were about the prospect of fishing some of the high mountain lakes on the way down with our tenkara rods. I brought my Tenkara…

The last three weekends, I’ve been hitting Bear creek at Lair O’ the Bear Campground. The first trip was with a group Tenkara outing organized by Karel Lansky of the Tenkara on the Fly blog. With a mix of new and experienced Tenkara anglers, this was a blast and we will be organizing more trips…

While fishing this weekend in Rocky Mountain National Park, I happened across another Tenkara fisher on the Roaring River. This is rare for me as I usually get stared at or accosted out of curiosity for not having a reel rather than out of Tenkara fellowship. To my surprise, it was none other than Karel…